Gospel singer, Bassey, others knock poor Eagles display News

Gospel singer Nathaniel Bassey has joined a chorus of critics lambasting the Super Eagles’ underwhelming performance in their World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe, which ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Tuesday.

The match saw Victor Osimhen giving Nigeria the lead in the 75th minute with a powerful header, only for Tawanda Chirewa to break Nigerian hearts with a late equaliser in the 90th minute, effectively derailing the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualification hopes.

Bassey was unequivocal in his criticism, writing, “I’ve always said this, one of our problems is managing small success. You score just one goal, all of a sudden you think you have qualified for the World Cup.

“The Zimbabweans practically strolled from the midfield into the net unchallenged while we watched. Na wa. Now they’ll start calculating maths.”

Kachi Onyedika was particularly scathing, declaring, “I’m sorry but Nwabali utter dog sh*te. He can’t keep his focus for 90 minutes, gets too cocky and overconfident for no reason!

“Very heavy going down. He has so many flaws in his game but everyone’s overlooking it because of last AFCON.”

Daniel Regha placed blame on both players and coaching staff, arguing, “Super Eagles coach is to blame as much as the players, the team lacks consistency and determination; This performance against Zimbabwe was embarrassing. The team needs to step it up, this is the World Cup for goodness sake.”

Influencer @_VALKlNG succinctly captured the fans’ uncertainty, asking, “Omo shey Nigeria still fit qualify like this?”

A British-Nigerian doctor, @OurFavOnlineDoc, offered a more measured critique writing, “To be honest, that was a poor game. We should have won. We could have won. We didn’t look convincing at all.

“I genuinely hope we qualify for the World Cup. But we absolutely need to do a whole lot better. I still support Team Super Eagles.”

Abiola with the username @abdulhakeemyun6 expressed national frustration, lamenting, “A big shame, Nigeria supposed be Spain/Germany to all other African teams but chai.”

Solace Chukwu analysed the tactical decisions, noting, “Thought the (Victor) Boniface sub was a blunder on (Eric) Chelle’s part in the moment. That said, Ekong really should have dealt with that (the Zimbabwe run to the goal); he’s a great leader, but at this point he needs to be phased out of the starting XI. AFCON 2023 was, looking back, his one final heave.”

“Zimbabwe had one job. Frustrate us and steal points. They did it effortlessly. The moment Osimhen left, the team collapsed. Over-reliance on one player is a disaster waiting to happen. At this rate, let’s just forget the World Cup focus on AFCON and hope for a miracle,” he wrote.

Oladayo Martins added; “Ekong was a major flop today… Bassey came to his rescue severally. Based on permutations and calculations, we’ve still got a chance.”

David with the username, @otdavidlol, placed complete blame on the players writing, “I completely blame the players. Anyone that blames the coach didn’t watch the match and don’t understand football. Eric coached a winning game. But the players did him dirty. See (Alex) Iwobi’s miss. See (Ademola) Lookman’s miss. See (Moses) Simon’s performance. See (Samuel) Osayi’s performance, rubbish.”

The draw leaves Nigeria in a precarious position in Group C, sitting fourth with seven points, while South Africa continues to lead the group with 13 points. With four matches remaining, the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualification now hangs in the balance.

The team will look to bounce back in their next home match against Rwanda in August, hoping to reignite their World Cup qualification campaign.